Thoughts of moving to another country have been swimming around in my head for a couple years. Every time I mention this thought to My Jane, she laughs, waves her hand dismissively and walks away. As we draw ever closer to November those thoughts have grown more persistent. (Alexa: Play “Truckin'” by The Grateful Dead.) I have begun to do a bit of research on the options available to me even as I know the chance we will move is very slim. My Jane has big (expensive) plans for remodels of the kitchen and master bath which would make moving a huge waste of resources. We also are very attached to our medical providers and leaving them would be a traumatic experience. However this exercise is a form of escapism from the daily news stories assaulting my senses. You are invited to join me on this flight of fantasy as we explore the world around us.
My first concern in moving to another country is language. At the present speed of progress in learning Spanish on Duo Lingo I should have the language mastered by 2050 about the time the planet becomes unlivable. I would also be 100 years old if I am still alive. So, a country I might live in outside of The United States would be one filled with English speakers. Those English speakers could be speaking American English or versions of England’s English. So, the search begins with English friendly environments.
According to my research countries with a majority of English speakers outside of the United States are: United Kingdom
(in England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland) (60 million people), Canada (at least 20 million people), Australia (at least 17 million people), Republic of Ireland (4.8 million people) and New Zealand ( 4.8 million people).
English is also the primary ‘natively’ spoken language in the countries and territories of Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, the British Indian Ocean Territory, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Dominica, the Falkland Islands, Gibraltar, Grenada, Guam, Guernsey, Guyana, the Isle of Man, Jamaica, Jersey, Montserrat, the Pitcairn Islands, Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, Trinidad and Tobago, the Turks and Caicos Islands, and the United States Virgin Islands.
I don’t even know where some of these countries or territories are on the map. Most of them are islands which rules them out for My Jane who will have nothing to do with living on a tropical paradise.
Some more research is necessary to eliminate the islands and the US territories included in that list.
The second possibility is to find enclaves of American ex-pats to move in with. The countries with large American ex-pat communities include Mexico (738,100–1,000,000) Canada (316,350–1,000,000) India (2,694–700,000) Germany (324,000) and The Philippines (220,000–600,000).
Immigrating to another country requires a lot of research. Many countries welcome working folks but retirees are another question. So, I searched around briefly for places to retire overseas and came across this article by Kathleen Peddicord entitled ‘10 Places to Retire Overseas in 2020’ Her list is very eclectic. Here are all ten plus one of her suggestions. , Algarve, Portugal; Mazatlán, Mexico: Canggu (Bali), Indonesia; Medellín, Colombia; Paris; Cuenca, Ecuador; Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic; Valletta, Malta;Città Sant’Angelo, Italy; San Ignacio, Cayo, Belize;
Well, we have a starting place. Beginning in the next blog we will try to reduce this long list to a more realistic collection of possibilities.
See you next time.